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I nodded to all this, when suddenly, the door burst open, and Father entered. His eyes were wide with shock seeing Luke unconscious and Doctor Zalkind there.
“What is happening?” he asked.
I rushed over to him. “I’ll explain everything, Father. Doctor Zalkind needs to help Luke. It looks like he’s been poisoned.”
“Poisoned! In my own castle!?” My father seemed as incredulous about this as we all were. But this was not the moment to get lost in shock. The most important thing was to help Luke.
We put him into one of the guestrooms, and there, the doctor brought everything that was needed, as he had an entire ambulance with all its necessities in one of the rooms on thelower floor. With Father being of ailing health lately, this was a necessity. Now, it turned out that it was a stroke of good luck for Luke as well. By the time Luke seemed to be stable, we were exhausted from concern and fear.
“You may all rest for the evening,” Doctor Zalkind told us once we left what was now Luke’s room, closing the door behind us. “He will sleep.”
“Will he be alright?” I asked, afraid of what the answer might be.
Doctor Zalkind hesitated for a moment. I knew he would never give me reassurances unless he was absolutely certain of what he was saying. He was simply that sort of a man.
“Time will tell, Your Highness,” he said respectfully. “Mr. Hemlock was fortunate that you were around and that I was called so quickly. The antidote was given almost immediately, so hopefully, it managed to neutralize the poison and impend its further spread within his body.”
“I hope so,” I murmured to myself, feeling horribly guilty about everything, almost as if I myself had poisoned him. I don’t know why. It was probably the guilty conscience speaking out of me.
Doctor Zalkind said his goodbyes and both Cass and I retired for the evening. It was a day that bore heavily upon us both. I realized only then, when I was tucked in bed, that I hadn’t seen Adrian. But not seeing him didn’t mean that he wasn’t around. A part of me wanted to run out into the night again, if for nothing else than to see him again, but I knew better. I was dead tired from everything that had happened, and I needed to sleep.
As soon as I closed my eyes, sleep took over, but it was a restless night. It was as if even in my unconscious state, I could sense that something was changing, that there was an ominousshadow lurking above the castle, threatening us all, biding its time to reveal itself.
Chapter Ten
Adrian
The news of Luke’s poisoning sent shockwaves throughout the castle, igniting a wave of commotion and urgency among everyone, especially the king. Everyone was told to be extra vigilant, because no one knew who did it or why. It just made no sense. Why would someone poison, probably with the intention to kill, the princess’ future husband?
“The guards are patrolling the castle grounds with increased vigilance,” the king told me, as we once again, found ourselves in his study. That seemed to be the place where he was most at ease to speak about uncomfortable things, and this surely was one of the most uncomfortable ones.
“That is good,” I nodded.
“They’ve been ordered to report any suspicious activity that could pose even a small threat,” he continued. “I am not taking any chances.”
“As you shouldn’t, Your Highness,” I agreed.
It had been only two days since the unfortunate event, and the servants seemed to move more swiftly, attending to their duties with added urgency. Even they seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and acted accordingly. The atmosphere was wrought with concern and a shared determination not to let that happen again.
I had to admit that I had never seen an entire castle come together like that. The castle staff, normally absorbed in their assigned tasks, now worked together as a unified force, supporting one another and lending a helping hand wherever it was needed.
The same could have been applied to the doctor. He redoubled his efforts, his commitment evident in the way he checked up on Luke every couple of hours presenting tireless dedication.
Yet, despite all of these efforts, one question still remained.
“The possibility of the vampires being involved in Luke’s poisoning cannot be ignored,” the king said in a hushed tone.
I looked at him straight in the eyes and he returned the gaze. There was not a single hint of suspicion. He trusted me with his daughter’s life, and the fact that someone managed to infiltrate the castle did not make me a suspect in his eyes. I appreciated this. A lesser king would immediately point the finger of blame at the first possible suspect. But not him. He was far too intelligent for that.
“I honestly don’t see who else it could have been,” I agreed.
The king’s expression darkened, his brow furrowing with a mix of worry and determination. “Their thirst for power and our centuries-old conflict makes them our prime suspect. I fear that Constantine had something to do with this.”
Constantine was a vampire leader who had risen to power in the last decade. He managed to do it slowly, without making it too obvious. However, little by little, vampire clans were starting to come together, united in one thing: their hatred for humans, namely King Theodore.
“It is more than possible,” I nodded.
I only met Constantine once, and we weren’t on the same side. That was when I realized how truly dangerous he was because of one single thing: he was not afraid to die. A man, or in this case a vampire, who was unafraid to die was the most dangerous opponent, because you had nothing he feared, nothing that would force him to back down.
